Marine velocipede



sept. 15, 1942.

G.YF. CREMER yMARINE vELocIPEDE Filed Nav. 22, i940 2 Sheets-Sheet l .gli

Inventur E F. Cramer' Sept. 15, 1942. G. F. CREME-:R

MARINE VELOGIPEDE Filed Nov. 22,

1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventar* EFJITErnE'L" Patented Sept. 15, 1942 :UN IT ED PYTN'T fOFFl CE MARINE vELocIPEDE George F. Cremer, Milwaukee, Wis.

`Application November 22, 1940, Serial No. 366,663

2 Olaims.

'Ihisnvention appertains to boats, and more particularly to boats of .the character known as marine velocipedes, andthe same is an improvement over my prior `Patent No. 551,367, issued to meiDecember 1,'7, 1895.

Ln Yrecent years, bicycle-propelled catamarans .have again become very popular for lake and amusement resorts, and these catamarans are substantially of the same character as that shown in my above-mentioned patent. Considerable difficulty has been had with the proper assembling of the `.propeller shafts on the boats relativeto the hulls thereof and the drive mechamsm.

It is, therefore, Vone of the primary objects of lmy present invention to provide a novel means for mounting the propeller shaft on the hulls, whereby the angle of the propeller shaft Vrelative to the hulls can be readily changed to suit varying conditions.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a novel hanger-casting for supporting the front end of the propeller shaft and the bearings for the propeller shaft and the -drive sprocket shaft, whereby the bear-ings will be effectively protected from the water.

A further important object of my invention is `the provisionof an attaching plate for the 'hanger :casting and novel means for forming Athe -plate and hanger casting -relative to one another, where-V b-y Va rigid connection will be had, and whereby a desired adjustment of `the Vhanger casting on the -plate can beobtained by the mere loosening of a single bolt. Y

A still further object of my invention is lthe provision of la novel arrangement of steering parts extending fromthe steering post to the rudder, whereby such parts will be `out'of the way, and whereby all lost motion will be eliminated.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will be -hereinafter more specifically described, claimed, 4and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in `which drawings:

Figure lis a longitudinal sectional view through vmy novel catamaran, taken on the line I-I of oftFigure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 2 lis a top plan View of my boat.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating my .novel hanger casting .and supporting plate therefor. k

Figure l4lis a transverse, sectional View through the hanger casting and Asupporting plate, the view being taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a detail, sectional viewtaken on the line 5.i5 of Figure I, `looking in Ythe :directionof the arrows, illustratingone of the hanger rods for the propeller shaft.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary, detail, sectional view illustrating one of the adjustable brace rods for the bicycle frame.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, the letter B generally indicates my improved boat, and the same includes a pair of spaced, ,elongated boat hulls I0 and II. These hulls Ill `and I I can be constructed in any approvedmanner to form a seaworthy arrangement.

Slotted supporting straps I2 are Secured to the upper faces of the hulls I0 and II, and brace plates I3 and Ill extendacross the hulls and are adjustably connected to said straps, as in my above-noted prior patent. These cross frame plates I3 and I4 have rigidly connected thereto a bicycle frame I5, and this frame includes a saddle seat I6 and a steeringpost I 'I provided with handle bars I8. The bicycle frame also rotatably supports the pedal shaft I9 having a drive sprocket wheel 20 keyed or otherwise secured thereto, over which is trained a forwardly extending sprocket chain 2|.

The twin hulls `Ill and II .can be braced and connected together at other desired points, and, as shown in the drawings, I can provide a rear cross frame plate 22. The extreme stern ends of the twin hulls I0 and II are connected by a supporting structure 23 for the rudder 24. The supporting structure 23 can include a cross bar 25 rigidly connected to the hulls and a substantially U-shaped brace strap 26. The ends of the strap can be riveted or otherwise fastened to the cross bar 25. The rudder shaft 21 is rotatably mounted in bearing openings formed in the bar 25 and the straps 26, and the steering shaft has rigidly connected therewith ,a steering arm 28.

`Between the hulls ID and Il, I arrange the propeller shaft 29, and the rear end of this shaft has connected therewith a screw propeller 36. The front end of the propeller lshaft 29 is supported in a novel manner, and the support for Athe front end of the propeller shaft includes a hanger casting 3l. Thisrhanger castingembodies a transversely'extending bearing sleeve 32, having connected `therewith by spaced parallel yribs $3, an .arcuate .supporting Iplate 34. This rplate is provided intermediate its ends with a longitudinally extending slot 35. Formed on the rear end of the plate is a rearwardly directed, longitudinally extending bearing sleeve 33 arranged at right angles to the front bearing sleeve 32. 'I'hese sleeves are further joined by a rigid backbone or rib 31, which extends down below said bearing sleeves, and this rib or backbone 31 forms a guard for said bearing sleeves.

The front end of the propeller shaft 29 extends into a hollow shaft section 38 received in the sleeve 38, and this hollow shaft section is rotatably mounted in ball bearings 39 carried by the opposite ends of the sleeve. A grease fitting 4U is carried by the sleeve, so as to facilitate the convenient lubricating of the bearings. The eX- treme front end of the shaft 29 has keyed or otherwise secured thereto a beveled pinion 4I, which is adapted to mesh with a beveled gear 42 keyed or otherwise secured to the sprocket drive shaft 43. The sleeve 32 supports suitable ball bearings 44 for the drive sprocket shaft, and this sleeve can also be provided with a fitting 45 to facilitate the lubrication of said bearings.

The end of the drive shaft remote from the beveled gear 42 has keyed or otherwise secured thereto a sprocket wheel 46, and this sprocket wheel 46 has trained thereabout the front end of the sprocket chain 2 I.

In connection with the hanger casting 3i, I utilize a supporting bracket 41, and this bracket includes a lower wall 48 having a centrally disposed arcuate guide track 49, which slidably receives the arcuate top Wall 34 of the hanger casting. It is to be noted that the arcuate guide 48 includes side flanges 50, which engage the opposite sides of the hanger casting, so as to effectively prevent lateral shifting movement thereof. Y

The lower wall 48 of the supporting bracket 41 is firmly bolted, as at 5I, to the front cross bar I4, and in order to hold the hanger casting in a preferred adjusted position, a bolt 52 is extended through the cross brace I4, the supporting bracket 41, and the slot 35 in the hanger casting. Obviously, by loosening the nut 53 on the bolt 52, the hanger casting can be shifted or rocked back and forth in the guideway 49 of the bracket 41.

The propeller shaft 29 is further supported at spaced points by depending hanger rodsv 54 and 55. These hanger rods are adjustably mounted on the cross braces I3 and 22, and the lower ends of the hanger rods have swivelly connected thereto, by means of pivots 56, split bearing collars 51, which encircle bearing sleeves 58 through which the shaft 29 extends.

By this construction, the split collar 51 can be turned on the bearing 58, and the bearing and collar can be swung back and forth on its hanger rod.

Thus, the arrangement of the hanger rods and the hanger casting permits the effective changing of the angle of the propeller shaft to suit varying conditions.

Referring back to the steering mechanism for the rudder 24, it will be noted that the steering post I1 of the bicycle frame I5 rotatably extends through the cross front brace I4 and through a guide opening 59 formed in the supporting bracket 41. The lower end of the post I1 has secured thereto a steering crank arm 69, and this crank arm is operatively connected through the medium of a link 6I with one arm of a bell crank 62. This bell crank is rockably mounted at its angle on a pivot bolt 63 carried by the front cross brace I4. A rearwardly extending steering rod 64 is operatively connected to the bell crank 62, as is clearly shown in Figure 2, and this rod extends in close proximity and parallel to the hull i8, and through a guideway 65. Adjacent the rear end of the boat B, the steering rod 64 is angled, as at 6G, toward the center of the boat, and the extreme rear end of the rod is operatively connected to the steering arm 28 on the steering shaft 21 for the rod. This gives a simple but durable steering mechanism and insures the proper turning of the rudder upon the manipulation of the handle bars I8.

I lay great stress on the construction and arrangement of the hanger casting and the supporting bracket 41, as by employing this arrangement I am enabled to quickly assemble the propeller shaft on the boat.

In order to further brace the bicycle frame I5, I can employ a brace rod 61, and the front end of this brace rod 61 is connected with the front brace frame bar I4. The rear end of the brace rod is threaded and is extended through an eye 68 formed on the hub or bearing sleeve for the pedal crank shaft I9. Nuts 69 are threaded on the rod 61 on each side of the eye 68, and by tightening up on the nuts, the brace rod can be firmly clamped in position, and due to a certain spring in the bicycle frame, and the adjustability of the cross frame bars I3 and I4, the sprocket chain 2I slightly tightened or loosened by proper manipulation of the nut 69.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

l. In a marine velocipede including a pair of similar hulls, cross braces connecting said hulls together, and a seat, a steering post, and a crank pedal shaft carried by the braces, a propeller shaft arranged between said hulls, a supporting plate rigidly secured to one of the cross braces having a longitudinally extending arcuate guide, a hanger casting including right-angularly extending bearing sleeves and an arcuate guide wall slidably fitted in said guide, means adjustably connecting the arcuate guide wall to said supporting bracket, bearings in said bearing sleeves, the forward end of the propeller shaft being tted in one bearing sleeve and a drive shaft fitted in the other of said bearing sleeves, means carried by the sleeves for lubricating the bearings, means operatively connecting the drive shaft with the propeller shaft, and means operatively connecting the drive shaft with the pedal crankshaft.

2. In a marine velocipede including a pair of spaced similar hulls, cross braces connecting said hulls together, a seat, a steering post, and a pedal crankshaft carried by certain of the braces, a propeller shaft carried by the braces, and means for operating the propeller shaft from the pedal crankshaft, a rudder and a rudder shaft supported between the hulls, a steering arm on the rudder shaft, a crankarm on the steering post, a bell crank lever rockably mounted at its angle adjacent one of the hulls, a link operatively connecting the crankarm on the steering post to one of the arms of the bell crank lever, a steering rod arranged in close proximity to one of the hulls, and operatively connected to the other arm of the bell crank lever, the rear end of the steering rod having an angled portion extending toward the rudder, and means operatively connecting the rear end of the steering rod to the steering arm.

GEORGE F. CREMER. 

